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THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY 


IN  PEORIA,  ILL., 

ON  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY, 

BY  REV.  HORACE  C.  HOVEY, 

(Pastor  of  the  Church.) 


I’UBLISHED  13  V  1 1  IE  Q  XJ  EST. 


PEORIA: 

TRANSCRIPT  PRINTING  AND  BLANK  BOOK  COMPANY. 

1869. 


r  v  •  ...  ; 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


https://archive.org/details/sabbathnecessityOOhove 


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Z  45 

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SERMON.' 


Make  2  :  27.  “The  Sabbath  was  made  for  Mand 


It  is  not  my  design  to  go  over  the  whole  ground  of 
the  Sabbatic  controversy,  but  simply  to  show  that  man 
needs  a  Sabbath.  Christ  says  it  “was  made  for  man,” 
and  we  affirm  that  this  provision  mercifully  meets  an 
ever  existing  necessity  of  human  nature.  If  this  affir¬ 
mation  is  verified,  it  will  show  that  the  Sabbath-law 
has  not  been  abrogated  ;  for  how  can  an  absolute  ne¬ 
cessity  be  abolished  ?  Even  if  no  more  is  proved  than 
that  the  sacred  day  is  of  vast  utility  and  advantage  to 
the  race,  it  will  warrant  our  interpreting  every  doubt¬ 
ful  scriptural  passage  in  a  light  favorable  to  its  perpe¬ 
tuity. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  Sabbath  has  its  abuses ; 
and  these  are  to  be  plainly  rebuked.  The  Jews,  in 
Christ’s  day,  would  sooner  see  a  man  die  than  save  him 
from  death  by  breaking  the  Sabbath.  They  would  not 
even  defend  themselves  on  that  day  if  attacked  by 
their  enemies.  In  order  to  sweep  away  their  useless 
traditions,  the  Savior  assured  them  that  while  the 


4 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


Sabbatli  was  made  for  man,  man  was  not  made  for  the 
Sabbath.  The  institution  was  to  benefit,  not  destroy 
him.  And  I  believe  that  so  fully  as  to  say,  that  while 
it  is  best  to  keep  the  day  strictly,  it  is  desirable  to 
keep  it  in  almost  any  way  rather  than  not  at  all !  The 
extremes  of  merciless  rigor  and  of  heedless  desecration 
are  alike  to  be  avoided. 

Stress  is  laid  by  some  on  the  Sabbath’s  being  “  a 
positive  institution;”  by  which  they  seem  to  mean  that 
it  is  fixed  by  mere  arbitrary  decree.  We  hold  that 
the  law  by  which  it  was  ordained  is  no  more  positive 
or  arbitrary  than  any  of  the  other  Ten  Command¬ 
ments.  They  are  all  founded  upon  a  divine  knowledge 
of  man’s  necessities.  And  it  is  strenuously  held  that 
when  Christ  said  “the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,”  he 
meant  that  wherever  man  is  found,  whether  in  Palestine 
or  in  Greenland,  in  America  or  in  Australia,  it  is  true  in 
every  age  that  he  needs  a  Sabbath.  And  if  this  be  so, 
then  whosoever  takes  his  Sabbath  away  from  him, 
whether  by  violence  or  by  legislation,  by  sophistry  or  by 
the  temptations  of  pleasure-seeking,  robs  him  of  one 
of  the  necessaries  of  life,  one  of  his  sacred  privileges, 
one  of  his  chartered  rights.  There  is  little  danger  of 
anybody’s  trying  to  make  us  keep  the  Sabbath  too 
strictly  ;  the  danger  is  all  the  other  way.  We  are  in 
danger  of  being  defrauded  of  the  "bodily  rest  and 
spiritual  nourishment  guaranteed  to  us  by  that  day. 
He  who  is  the  true  friend  of  his  race  will  range  him¬ 
self  among;  the  defenders  of  the  Sabbath.  For  a  time 
individuals,  familes,  nations,  may  seem  to  thrive  with¬ 
out  it ;  but  their  mistake  will  sooner  or  later  appear. 
The  best  men  in  the  world  are  those  who  revere  holy 
time;  and  their  testimony  is,  that  they  are  good 
and  prosperous  because  they  have  kept  the  Sab- 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


5 

bath.  After  a  careful  examination  of  alleged  exceptions 
to  this  rule,  I  am  satisfied  that  they  are  either  mere 
fancies  with  no  substantial  basis,  or  are  grounded  on 
words  uttered  in  the  heat  of  controversy  and  not  to  i  >e 
taken  as  indicative  of  real  opinions.  Especially  is  this 
true  respecting  the  language  of  Luther  and  other 
reformers,  who  lived  at  a  time  when  the  social  elements 
were  in  a  state  of  fusion,  and  many  things  were  said  in 
paroxysms  of  zeal,  that  should  not  be  quoted  as  delib¬ 
erate  convictions.  Luther  s  matured  opinions  were  in 
perfect  harmony  with  those  held  by  the  friends  of  the 
Sabbath.  aIveep  it  holy,”  said  he,  “for  its  use’s  sake, 
both  to  body  and  soul.”  “  Nature  requires  that  one 
day  in  the  week  should  be  kept  quiet  without  labor  for 
either  man  or  beast.”  Toward  the  close  of  his  life  he 
composed  a  hymn  which,  according  to  his  biographer, 
he  wished  to  be  sung  in  the  church  while  he  lived  and 
after  he  was  gone,  and  which  contains  a  stanza  worthy 
of  the  Puritans : 

u  Hallow  the  day  which  God  hath  blest, 

That  thou  and  all  thy  house  may  rest ; 

Keep  hand  and  heart  from  labor  free, 

That  God  may  do  his  work  in  thee.’' 

It  is  painful  to  see  liowr  the  enemies  of  religion  cull, 
from  the  writings  of  the  Reformers,  jiassages  that 
seemingly  favor  their  own  views,  and  exclude  far 
clearer  declarations  sustaining  the  orthodox  precepts. 
Whatever  Luther,  Calvin,  Zwingle,  Knox,  and  other 
giants  of  the  Reformation  may  have  held  respecting 
the  Jewish  Sabbath,  they  were  staunch  advocates  of 
the  Lord’s  Day,  and  taught  that  it  was  to  be  sanctified 
with  conscientious  fidelity,  at  home  as  well  as  in  the 
house  of  worship. 

In  discussing  the  proposition  that  man  needs  a  Sab- 


0 


THE  SABBATII  A  NECESSITY. 


bath,  my  main  appeal,  however,  must  be  to  facts, 
instead  of  to  mere  opinions.  And  I  allege, 


I. - THAT  THE  SABBATII  IS  A  PHYSICAL  NECESSITY. 

It  is  just  as  essential  as  sound  sleep,  good  food,  suit¬ 
able  clothing  and  shelter,  fresh  air  and  abundant 
exercise.  These  are  all  among  the  necessaries  of  life. 
We  cannot  safely  dispense  with  any  of  them  for  any 
considerable  length  of  time.  For  example,  a  man  may 
recover  the  loss  of  one  night’s  rest ;  but  let  him  be 
kept  from  sleep  for  several  successive  nights,  and  it  will 
tell  on  his  nervous  system  ;  and  if  this  is  persisted  in 
for  a  long  time  it  will  surely  result  in  disease,  insanity 
or  death.  So  we  call  sleep  a  physical  necessity, 
although  a  man  can  dispense  with  it  temporarily.  In 
like  manner,  if  one  should  break  a  single  Sabbath,  he 
could  recover  his  ground  ;  but  let  him  form  the  habit 
of  Sabbath-breaking,  and  it  will  be  his  ruin.  The 
laws  of  nature,  as  well  as  of  revelation,  require  us  to 
rest  one  day  in  seven.  And  inasmuch  as  there  is  no 
outward  sign  to  distinguish  one  day  from  another,  God 
has  ordained  that  there  should  be  uniformity  in  the 
observance  of  a  special,  designated  day.  But  if  you 
study  the  wording  of  the  Fourth  Commandment,  you 
will  see  its  essence  is,  that  we  should  set  apart  one- 
seventh  of  our  time  for  In  ly  rest.  And  in  view  of  our 
physical  needs  only,  we  could  do  the  resting  as  well  on 
one  day  as  another.  But  the  way  to  make  sure  of  all 
the  blessings  of  the  day,  is  for  us  to  agree  in  observing 
one  that  is  specified  and  protected  by  law.  The  only 
such  day  in  modern  times  is  that  known  as  the  Lord’s 
Day,  or  the  Christian  Sabbath,  the  First  day  of  the 
week. 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


h~ 

( 


The  law  of  nature  is,  that  labor  must  be  followed 
by  sufficient  rest.  The  general  testimony  of  physi¬ 
cians  is,  that  “  men  who  labor  seven  days  in  the  week 
are  not  as  healthy,  and  do  not  ordinarily  live  as  long 
as  those  who  work  but  six  and  rest  one.”  Dr.  J.  It. 
Farre,  of  London,  having  regarded  the  subject  as  a 
physician  for  forty  years,  made  the  following  statement 
sometime  ago  in  the  form  of  a  report  to  the  British 
House  of  Commons  :  “  As  a  day  of  rest  I  view  the 

Sabbath  as  a  day  of  compensation  for  the  inadequate 
restorative  power  of  the  body  under  continued  labor 
and  excitement.  A  physician  always  has  respect  to 
the  preservation  of  the  restorative  power,  because  if 
this  once  be  lost,  his  healing  office  is  at  an  end. 

The  ordinary  exertions  of  man  run  down  the  circula¬ 
tion  every  day  of  his  life  ;  and  the  first  general  law  of 
nature  by  which  God  prevents  man  from  destroying 
himself  is  the  alternating  of  day  and  night,  that  re¬ 
pose  may  succeed  action.  But  although  the  night  ap¬ 
parently  equalizes  the  circulation,  yet  it  does  not  re¬ 
store  the  balance  sufficiently  for  the  attainment  of  a 
long  and  active  life.  Hence  one  day  in  seven  is  by 
the  bounty  of  Providence  thrown  in  as  a  day  of  com¬ 
pensation  to  perfect  by  its  repose  the  animal  system. 
I  consider  therefore  that  the  Sabbatical  appointment 
is  not  (as  it  has  sometimes  been  erroneously  viewed) 
simply  a  precept,  partaking  of  the  nature  of  a  political 
institution  ;  but  that  its  observance  is  to  be  numbered 
among  the  natural  duties,  if  the  preservation  of  life  be 
admitted  to  be  a  duty,  and  the  premature  destruction 
of  it  a  suicidal  act.”  This  statement,  which  I  have  given 
in  an  abridged  form,  has  been  endorsed  by  hundreds 
of  eminent  men,  among  whom  are  the  most  noted  sav¬ 
ants  of  our  own  country.  The  New  Plaven  Medical 


8 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


Association,  for  example,  unanimously  affirm,  that 
“  Men  who  labor  but  six  days  in  the  week  will  be  more 
healthy  and  live  longer,  other  things  being  equal,  than 
those  who  labor  seven,  and  that  they  will  do  more 
work,  and  do  it  in  a  better  manner.’1  One  of  our  great 
money-kings,  gives  his  experience  at  a  time  of  unusual 
financial  pressure  as  follows  :  u  I  should  have  been  a 
dead  man  had  it  not  been  for  the  Sabbath !  .  Obliged  to 

t _ j 

work  from  morning  till  night,  through  the  whole  week, 
I  felt  on  Saturday,  especially  Saturday  afternoon,  as  if 
I  must  have  rest.  It  was  like  going  into  a  dense  fog. 
Everything  looked  dark  and  gloomy,  as  if  nothing 
could  be  saved.  I  dismissed  all,  and  kept  the  Sabbath 
in  the  good  old  way.  On  Monday  it  was  all  bright 
sunshine  !  I  could  see  through,  and  I  got  through. 
But  had  it  not  been  for  the  Sabbath,  I  have  no  doubt 
I  should  be  in  the  grave.”  Says  a  noted  English 
author  :  “  We  never  knew  a  man  work  seven  days 

in  a  week  who  did  not  kill  himself  or  kill  his  mind.” 
It  is  said  of  one  of  our  greatest  importers  “  that  he 
used  to  consider  the  Sabbath  as  the  best  day  in  the 
week  to  plan  successful  voyages ;  showing  that  his 
brain  had  no  Sabbath.”  That  man  became  a  maniac, 
as  thousands  of  others  have  done  who  defrauded  them¬ 
selves  of  needed  repose.  It  may  well  be  inquired  if 
there  is  not  a  close  connection  between  the  alarming 
increase  of  insanity  both  in  America  and  in  Europe, 
and  the  growing  disregard  of  the  sacred  day  of  rest. 

Sabbath-breaking  has  been  very  thoroughly  tried  as 
an  experiment,  from  the  Israelite  who  u  gathered  sticks 
upon  the  Sabbath-day,”  down  to  the  present  hour  when 
men  pride  themselves  in  trampling  upon  holy  time  in 
the  name  of  liberty.  It  has  repeatedly  been  tried 
upon  a  grand  scale,  and  with  very  uniform  ill-success. 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


9 


In  the  service  of  a  certain  company,  2,000  men  were 
employed  for  years,  seven  days  in  the  week.  To  ren¬ 
der  them  contented  in  giving  up  their  right  to  the 
Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest,  they  were  paid  on  that  day 
double  wages.  And  what  was  the  result  ?  The  men 
suffered  both  in  mind  and  in  body.  A  change  became 
necessary.  They  were  permitted  to  rest  on  Sunday. 
They  then  did  more  work  than  ever  before.  And  this, 
according  to  the  Superintendent,  was  u  owing  to  the 
demoralization  of  the  men  under  the  first  system,  and 
their  exhaustion  of  bodily  strength,  which  was  visible 
to  the  most  casual  observer.”  A  similar  experiment 
was  made  in  a  large  flouring  establishment.  For 
several  years  the  mills  were  run  seven  days  in 
the  week.  The  plan  worked  badly.  The  men 
were  then  ordered  to  stop  labor  from  11  o’clock 
Saturday  night,  till  1  o’clock  Monday  morning.  And 
during  the  year  following  this  change,  it  is  said  that 
“the  same  men  actually  giound  50,000  bushels  more 
than  had  ever  been  ground  in  a  single  year  in  that 
establishment  before.”  Illustrations  might  be  greatly 
multiplied.  For  money-loving  men  in  all  departments 
of  business  have  wanted  to  see  for  themselves  whether 
more  could  be  made  by  breaking  the  Sabbath  than  by 
keeping  it.  The  general  drift  of  their  testimony  is, 
that  simply  with  reference  to  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  work  done,  it  is  as  desirable  for  men  to  rest  one  day 
in  seven,  as  for  them  to  have  wholesome  food,  fresh  air, 
and  sound  sleep  at  night ;  and  that  habitual  Sabbath 
desecration  will  bring  its  own  punishment  in  the  form 
of  a  deranged  nervous  system  and  impaired  muscular 
energy  and  power,  even  if  God  withholds  those  fearful 
judgments  by  which  he  has  so  often  visited  such  as 
despise  his  day. 


10 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


The  observance  of  a  day  of  bodily  repose  is,  there¬ 
fore,  a  physical  necessity.  The  limbs  should  rest,  the 
hands,  the  eyes,  the  nerves,  and  the  brain  should  rest! 
The  very  etymology  of  the  word  “Sabbath”  indicates 
this.  In  the  original  Hebrew  it  signifies  simply  “rest, 
cessation  from  labor.”  And  although  since  used  in  a 
specific  religious  sense,  its  primary  meaning  should  not 
be  forgotten.  Those  whose  obedience  to  divine  law  is 
limited  here,  have  their  proportionate  reward.  They 
spend  the  sacred  hours  in  idleness,  slumber,  or  gentle 
recreation,  and  praise  the  advantages  derived  from  even 
this  poor  way  of  Sabbath-keeping.  The  weary,  jaded 
body  rests,  and  they  are  glad.  Why  should  they  ob¬ 
ject,  I  ask,  to  carrying  the  sabbatic  idea  still  farther, 
and  resting  as  the  Lord  enjoins,  and  as  angels  rest  in 
Heaven  ?  And,  I  ask  again,  how  would  men  have  ever 
discovered  even  the  physical  benefits  of  the  day  of  rest, 
had  not  God  ordained,  guarded  and  preserved  it  for 
them  i  This  holy  institution  is  a  heavenly  gift,  and 
should  be  gratefully  received  and  religiously  used. 

II. - THE  SABBATH  IS  A  SOCIAL  NECESSITY. 

The  great  mass  of  mankind  have  to  live  by  dint  of 
hard  work.  How  little  social  happiness  would  there 
be,  were  it  not  for  the  Sabbath  !  Men  go  home  on 
week  days,  after  laboring  ten  or  twelve  hours,  exhausted 
and  with  little  spirit  for  domestic  or  social  intercourse. 
Their  vivacity  is  gone.  Their  desires  are  best  met  by 
a  comfortable  supper  and  a  cozy  bed.  How  certainly 
would  this  unremitting  toil  harden  and  stupefy  us,  if 
the  blessed  Sabbath  did  not  break  the  monotonous 
current.  On  that  day  we  wash  off  the  dust,  and  with 
it  the  cares  of  the  week ;  we  array  ourselves  in  clean 
raimant  and  deck  our  persons  with  tasteful  adornments. 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


1  1 


And  then  we  meet  each  other  as  beings  of  a  higher 
order,  who  have  social  wants,  who  have  hearts  suscep¬ 
tible  of  culture  and  refinement.  Woe  to  those  who 
poison  this  sweet  fountain  of  happiness  by  making  the 
sacred  hours  an  occasion  of  boisterous  mirth  and  dissi¬ 
pation!  The  social  enjoyments  of  the  Sabbath  should 
be  in  keeping  with  the  nature  of  the  day,  gentle, 
serious  and  spiritual.  We  should  lie  at  an  equal  re¬ 
move  from  austerity  and  frivolity;  from  frowning  upon 
all  friendly  greetings,  pleasant  words  and  cheerful 
smiles,  and  from  giving  up  the  day  to  visiting,  feasting 
and  mirth. 

Those  who  are  able  to  command  rest  and  social 
pleasure  whenever  they  desire,  can  hardly  appreciate 
the  Sabbath  of  the  toiling  multitude.  If  the  day  is 
precious  to  the  rich,  it  should  be  regarded  as  priceless 
by  the  poor.  How  blessed  it  is  that  once  a  week  at 
least  we  may  all  with  a  clear  conscience  stop  work,  let 
the  fires  go  out  at  the  forge,  let  the  mill  cease  its 
clatter,  let  the  factory  bells  and  steam  whistles  hush 
their  clangor  and  screaming,  let  every  sign  of  toil  be 
put  out  of  sight,  and  then  when  the  dust  and  smoke 
have  cleared  away,  with  clean  persons,  fresh  and 
comely  garments  and  cordial  words,  meet  each  other 
for  the  tranquil,  heavenly  joys  of  the  day  that  God 
has  blest !  The  Christian  assembly  is  the  purest  form 
of  democracy  known  among  men ;  and  in  the  company 
that  meet  in  the  house  of  God,  where  every  man  conies 
as  the  invited  guest  of  the  King  of  Kings,  there  is 
more  true  social  equality  than  anywhere  else.  The 
Sabbath  is  the  great  leveller  of  society.  It  creates  a 
bond  of  essential  unity  in  the  family,  the  church  and 
the  nation.  It  enfolds  every  immortal,  blood-bought 
soul  in  the  robe  of  Christ’s  righteousness,  so  that  the 


12 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY, 


regal  purple  and  peasant’s  russet  are  alike  forgotten. 
We  are  all  rich  on  the  Sabbath.  Our  Heavenly 
Father  gives  one  of  his  children,  on  that  day,  as  much 
leisure  as  another.  Sweetest  leisure  !  The  soul  asserts 
its  supremacy  over  the  body  and  says :  All  that  is  done 
to-day  shall  be  for  my  good !  And  the  heart  says : 
Let  me  also  be  remembered  to-day  !  And  if  God,  too, 
says :  Remember  me  on  this  my  day, — shall  not  the 
hours  be  all  the  richer  for  his  holy  presence  \ 

Human  society,  in  its  best  state,  is  mainly  indebted 
for  its  excellence  to  the  ordinance  under  consideration, 
and  hence  arise  its  fairest  hopes.  The  social  problems 
of  the  age  cannot  be  solved  without  the  Sabbath. 
The  day  is  necessary,  not  only  for  the  great  congrega¬ 
tion,  but  also  for  the  cottage  home.  A  family  without 
the  Lord’s  Day  is  like  the  family  that  has  lost  a 
mother.  It  is  bereaved.  No  comforts  or  luxuries,  no 
sports  or  festivals  can  supply  the  loss.  Beware  how 
you  make  home  desolate  !  Beware  how  you  stain  and 
cast  away  the  sacred  hours,  in  which,  more  than  at  any 
other  time,  the  family  ties  are  strengthened  and  hal¬ 
lowed,  the  choicest  lessons  of  truth  and  virtue  imparted, 
and  the  deepest,  holiest  fountains  of  love  unsealed. 

III. - THE  SABBATH  IS  AN  INTELLECTUAL  NECESSITY. 

It  is  so  in  two  very  different  ways.  One  is  in  giv¬ 
ing  a  period  of  rest  to  such  as  are  obliged  to  do  brain- 
work  all  the  week  through.  The  accountant,  for 
example,  who  from  Monday  morning  till  Saturday 
night,  manages  the  records  of  business,  in  which  hun¬ 
dreds  of  individuals  are  more  or  less  interested ;  casting 
up  column  after  column,  turning  page  after  page,  till 
the  hand  trembles,  the  eye  grows  dim,  the  head  aches 
and  the  whole  nervous  system  is  racked  ;  hoAv  needful 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


13 


for  such  a  man  is  the  day  when  lie  can  shut  up  journal 
and  ledger  and  let  his  over-taxed  mind  repose  !  To 
the  student  also,  the  Lord’s  Day  brings  indispensable 
rest.  Most  of  our  seminaries  of  learning  think  it  best 
for  the  pupils  to  have  two  leisure  days  each  week. 
Ambitious  students  have  sometimes  thought  they  could 
study  without  rest.  One  brilliant  youth,  who  always 
stood  at  the  head  of  his  class  in  College,  used  to  pride 
himself  on  studying  seven  days  in  a  week.  So  he  read 
Latin  and  Greek  and  books  of  science  on  Sunday,  to 
the  neglect  of  his  Bible  and  the  ordinances  of  God’s 
house.  His  principles  were  undermined.  In  his  junior 
year  he  was  expelled  for  gambling.  He  is  now  in  the 
penitentiary  for  manslaughter.  Another  student,  who 
pursued  a  similar  course,  is  now  a  saloon-keeper,  instead 
of  being  a  man  of  learning  and  fame.  Another  still, 
one  of  the  brightest  minds  I  ever  knew,  now  fills  an 
inebriate’s  grave.  These  young  men  would  not  have 
thus  made  shipwreck  had  they  revered  holy  time.  The 
mind  needs  a  Sabbath  as  well  as  the  body. 

But  the  intellectual  advantages  of  the  day  are  dif¬ 
ferent  in  the  case  of  one  who  is  engaged  chiefly  in 
manual  labor.  He  needs  it  as  a  means  of  mental 
growth.  He  has  worked  all  the  week  through,  according 
to  the  divine  precept :  “  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and 
do  all  thy  work.”  Now  he  needs  the  seventh  for  some¬ 
thing  nobler  than  work.  The  tendency  of  ceaseless 
toil  is  downward.  Let  us  now  and  then  lift  up  our 
heads  into  a  heavenly  atmosphere,  and  enjoy  for  awhile 
the  brightness  and  fragrance  of  a  mode  of  existence  in 
which  spirit  is  everything  and  flesh  nothing.  While 
kind  Nature  is  repairing  our  physical  mechanism, 
remedying  the  waste  made  by  friction  and  collision, 
the  soul  has  liberty  to  emerge  from  the  thickets  of 


14 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


worldly  briars  and  thorns,  that  it  may  feed  amid  the 
green  pastures  and  by  the  still  waters.  Coleridge  used  to 
say  that  the  fairest  flower  he  ever  saw  climbing  round 
a  poor  man’s  window,  was  not  so  beautiful  in  his  eyes 
as  the  Bible  which  he  saw  lying  within.  And  another 
of  his  genial  sayings  comes  to  mind :  “I  feel  as  if  God 
had,  by  giving  the  Sabbath,  given  fifty-two  springs  in 
the  year.1’  Now  let  the  hard-handed  man  of  toil  take 
his  beautiful  Bible  on  the  spring-like  Sabbath,  and 
gathering  his  little  ones  about  his  knee,  instruct  them 
in  the  knowledge  of  divine  truth.  And  then,  at  the 
sound  of  the  church-going  bell,  let  him  go  with  his 
children  and  hear  appointed  instructors  in  righteousness 
discourse  upon  the  grandest  themes  in  the  universe, — 
let  him  do  this  habitually,  and  he  will  become  a  man 
of  mental  vigor,  a  wise  and  good,  if  not  a  great  man. 
Consider  the  value  of  the  seventh  part  of  your  entire 
life  being  consecrated  to  happy  exercises  of  mind  and 
heart,  and  to  devotional  studies.  What  refreshment  to 
the  intellect !  What  growth  of  the  soul !  Cluster  the 
sacred  days  into  consecutive  time  and  look  at  their 
value.  Those  of  each  year  would  make  up  two  whole 
months.  A  person,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  has  had 
three  years  of  Sabbaths;  at  the  age  of  fifty,  nearly 
seven  years  of  sacred  time ;  and  at  the  age  of  seventy, 
the  Sabbath-keeper  has  enjoyed  ten  solid  years  of  time 
set  apart  for  spiritual  growth,  during  which  he  has 
habitually  fixed  his  thoughts  on  the  most  genial,  beau¬ 
tiful  and  sublime  objects  of  study. 

Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  the  most  highly  intel¬ 
lectual  and  enlightened  races  on  the  globe  are  those  by 
whom  the  Sabbath  has  been  most  generally  observed, 
and  who  have  even  guarded  it  by  legal  enactments  ? 
Why  prate  about  Sabbath-laws  as  an  infringement  of 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


15 


liberty?  They  secure  to  us  our  liberties  !  They  bring 
to  us  freedom  from  the  slavery  of  toil  and  care,  and 
give  us  leisure  for  mental  and  moral  culture.  They 
prevent  the  task-master  from  grinding  us  into  the  dust. 
Let  this  busy  age  beware  of  its  gigantic  machinery ! 
We  in  America  are  not  like  the  easy-going  nations  of 
the  old  world.  If  we  suffer  our  Sabbaths  to  be  turned 
into  holidays,  we  shall  presently  find  that  we  can  not 
waste  our  time  in  play.  And  then  selfish  men  will  have 
their  way,  and  we  shall  be  made  to  work  seven  days  for 
the  wages  of  six.  These  wheels  that  never  are  weary, 
and  these  engines  which  have  no  bowels  of  mercy,  will 
crush  your  hearts  and  grind  your  souls !  Be  thankful 
for  the  wholesome  legislation  that  checks  their  exac¬ 
tion,  bidding  them  and  you  stop  work  one  day  in  seven ! 

IV. - THE  SABBATH  IS  A  MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  NECESSITY. 

Its  observance  is  essential  to  the  spiritual  well-being 
of  man.  It  is  by  its  very  nature  a  restraint  upon  vice 
and  immorality,  and  a  promoter  of  virtue  and  religion. 
Take  it  away,  or  degrade  it  into  a  mere  day  of  amuse¬ 
ment,  and  disastrous  results  are  sure  to  follow.  It  is 
notorious  that  Sabbath-breaking  is  invariably  associated 

•K 

with  other  bad  habits.  It  is  said  that  a  certain  mer¬ 
chant,  long  accustomed  to  observe  human  nature,  used 
to  say:  “When  I  see  one  of  my  clerks  riding  out  for 
pleasure  on  the  Sabbath, — on  Monday  I  dismiss  him. 
Such  a  one  can  not  be  trusted.’7  He  evidently  thought 
that  a  man  who  would,  in  one  thing,  be  guilty  of  pub¬ 
lic  disobedience  to  God’s  law,  might  also  disregard 
that  law  privately,  in  ways  that  would  injure  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  his  employer. 

Facts  obtained  from  prison  records  are  instructive. 
Of  criminals  confined  in  the  Massachusetts  State  prison, 


16 


TIIE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


89  out  of  100  are  said  to  have  been  habitual  Sabbath- 
breakers.  Of  4,335  who  have  been  inmates  of  another 
prison,  only  82  claimed  to  have  been  in  the  habit  of  ob¬ 
serving  the  Sabbath.  According  to  Dr.  Edwards  :  “  A 
gentleman,  wdio  has  had  charge  of  more  than  100,000 
prisoners  and  has  taken  pains  to  ascertain  the  cause  of 
their  crimes,  says  he  does  not  recollect  a  single  case  of 
capital  olfense,  where  the  party  had  not  been  a  Sabbath- 
breaker,  and  generally  that  was  the  first  step.”  With 
reference  to  prisoners  of  all  classes  he  affirms  that 
“  nineteen-twentieths  have  neglected  the  Sabbath.” 

The  documents  of  the  Sabbath-Committee  of  New 
York  develop  some  remarkable  facts.  By  their  per¬ 
sistent  and  self-denying  efforts  they  succeeded  in  closing 
more  than  5000  dram-shops  and  suppressing  other  dens 
of  infamy,  whose  operations  had  hitherto  been  more 
active  on  Sunday  than  at  any  other  time.  Their  strug¬ 
gle,  which  began  in  1857,  and  with  varied  success  has 
been  continued  to  the  present  time,  has  encountered 
fierce  opposition  from  liquor-sellers,  gamblers,  theatrical 
proprietors,  infidels  and  time-serving  politicians.  Yet, 
after  all,  they  have  not  sought  to  force  people  to  keep 
the  Sabbath  holy,  but  simply  by  measures  of  sufficient 
stringency  to  prevent  open,  flagrant  Sabbath-breaking. 
The  following  statistics  from  the  reports  of  the  Metro¬ 
politan  Police  give  the  immediate  results  :  “The  ar¬ 
rests  for  intoxication,  disorder  and  crime  on  Sunday, 
during  18  months  of  the  period  preceding  the  agitation 
of  the  Sabbatli-question,  exceeded  those  of  Tuesday 
(taken  as  the  average  of  week-days)  by  25  per  cent. 
But  during  the  29  months  following,  the  Tuesday’s  ar¬ 
rests  exceeded  those  of  the  Sunday’s  by  40  per  cent.,  or 
a  relative  change  of  65  per  cent .  The  comparison  of 
the  actual  results  with  those  which  would  have  followed 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


17 


had  Sabbath-desecration  continued  without  restraint, 
will  show  a  saving  of  13,823  cases  of  vice  and  crime  on 
the  Sundays  of  29  months,  as  the  fruits  of  this  benefi¬ 
cent  reform.”  May  it  ever  be  far  from  us  to  oppose, 
even  in  theory,  legislation  so  fertile  in  good  ! 

The  positive  aid  given  to  the  cause  of  religion  by  the 
Sabbath  is  manifest.  For  this  reason  the  enemies  of 
the  cause  are  hostile  to  the  day.  Nothing  can  be  more 
thoroughly  rational  and  consistent  than  for  an  infidel 
to  hate  the  Sabbath.  It  was  said  by  Calvin,  that  “  If 
it  were  abolished,  the  church  would  be  in  imminent 
danger  of  immediate  convulsion  and  ruin.”  True  words  f 
Fact  wrell-known  to  foes  as  well  as  friends ! 

I  have  endeavored  to-day  to  show  that  the  Sabbath 
is  absolutely  essential  to  the  best  development  and  cul¬ 
ture  of  man’s  physical,  social,  intellectual  and  moral 
nature.  Even  as  a  matter  of  mere  expediency  we  ought 
not  to  give  up  such  a  blessing.  Had  God  never  given 
us  a  day  of  sacred  rest,  wise  men  would  wish  to  ordain 
one.  What  friend  of  humanity,  then,  could  wish  to  see 
it  swept  away,  after  having  once  been  established  by 
divine  authority  ?  Did  Christ  abrogate  the  Sabbath  ? 
He  was  wise,  good,  the  best  friend  of  man.  He  oppose 
the  Sabbath  ?  The  probabilities  are  all  against  his 
doing  so.  He  founded  a  great  kingdom,  and  the  per¬ 
petuity  of  that  kingdom  depends  on  the  observance  of 
such  a  day.  What  should  He  abrogate  the  Sabbath 
lor  ?  In  what  solitary  particular  would  so  singular  a 
procedure  promote  his  benevolent  purposes  ?  Modify, 
correct,  transfer  the  sacred  ordinances  from  one  day  to 
another,  he  might  consistently  do,  if  he  thought  best ; 
abrogate — never,  unless  he  wished  to  destroy  the 
Church  he  gave  his  heart’s  blood  to  establish  !  I  be¬ 
lieve  Christ  gave  universality  to  the  day,  when  he  said, 


18 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


“  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man;”  so  that  thencefor¬ 
ward  it  should  no  longer  be  restricted  to  the  Jewish 
nation,  but  with  its  inestimable  advantages  should 
belong  to  the  entire  human  race,  a  precious  legacy  to 
every  generation.  It  is  for  us  the  Lord's  Day;  rich  in 
holy  memories  of  his  life,  death  and  resurrection,  and 
interwoven  with  the  history  of  his  church  from  the 
earliest  ages.  It  is  not  only  necessary  to  our  own  high¬ 
est  welfare,  but  it  is  a  day  consecrated  to  the  Redeemer. 
If  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  you  will  remember 
his  day  to  keep  it  holy.  If  you  desecrate  his  day,  it  is 
conclusive  evidence  that  you  do  not  love  him,  and  have 
no  sympathy  with  the  aims  of  his  beneficent  kingdom. 
The  Sabbath  is  yours  in  trust  for  unborn  generations. 
Stand  ready,  if  need  be,  to  make  sacrifices  for  this  pre¬ 
cious  institution.  Make  up  your  minds  that  you 
positively  will  keep,  use,  guard,  and  transmit  this 
sacred  trust.  Defend  the  day  forever  against  its  foes, 
high  and  low,  native  and  alien.  Those  who  keep  the 
Sabbath,  God  will  keep,  and  they  shall  be  his  when  he 
comes  to  make  up  his  jewels. 

In  the  Providence  of  God  I  am  delivering  this  dis¬ 
course  on  the  Anniversary  of  our  National  Independ¬ 
ence.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  many  are  borne  away 
from  their  moorings  by  enthusiasm  for  a  time-honored 
holiday,  and  are  at  this  moment  sinking  the  Lord’s  Day 
in  the  Fourth  of  July.  The  occasion  justifies  me  in 
•closing  my  sermon  by  an  especial  appeal  to  Christian 
patriots.  You  are  solemnly  warned  that  if  you  allow 
the  Sabbath  to  be  polluted  with  impunity,  even  in  the 
name  of  heroism,  patriotism  and  liberty,  you  will  find 
it  to  be  the  letting  in  of  a  deluge.  The  scenes  by 
which  European  cities  are  disgraced  will  be  enacted  in 
the  cities  of  America.  The  public  desecration  of  the 


THE  SABBATII  A  NECESSITY. 


19 


Sabbath  will  open  the  flood-gates  of  infidelity,  sensual¬ 
ity  and  blasphemy.  Death  will  be  declared  an  eternal 
sleep.  The  existence  of  a  God  will  be  denied.  The 
Bible  will  be  pronounced  a  fiction,  and  religious  wor¬ 
ship,  folly.  And  when  that  time  has  come,  I  warn  you 
that  those  who  ridicule  devotion  will  despise  the  Dec¬ 
laration  of  Independence  ;  those  who  deny  the  rights 
of  God  will  fail  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  man.  If  the 
Sabbath  is  ever  abolished  in  this  Republic,  liberty  will 
be  dissolved  into  anarchy  or  expelled  by  tyranny.  It  is 
manifestly  appropriate,  therefore,  whenever  the  Fourth 
of  July,  or  any  other  national  festival,  coincides  with 
the  Lord’s  Day,  that  it  should  be  an  occasion  of  serious 
reflection,  sacred  praise  and  devout  thanksgiving,  in¬ 
stead  of  noisy  demonstrations  and  hilarity.  We  shall 
be  all  the  more  loyal  to  our  country  if  we  are  loyal  to 
our  God.  The  American  Republic  was  founded  by 
Christians.  Its  institutions  are  the  outgrowth  of  re¬ 
ligion.  Even  the  few  skeptics,  who  participated  in  the 
scenes  of  the  revolution,  felt  the  truth  of  this,  and 
made  constant  appeals  to  the  Word  of  God.*  The 
notes  of  freedom  were  first  sounded  from  the  pulpits. 
As  early  as  1757,  a  minister  in  Philadelphia  exclaimed 
with  reference  to  America :  “  Behold  a  country 

given  to  us  and  to  our  posterity,  to  spread  abroad 
the  pure  evangelical  religion  of  Jesus  !  Behold 
colonies  founded  in  it!  Protestant  colonies!  Free 
colonies!”  Those  earnest  words  were  spoken  19 
years  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  made 
in  the  same  City  of  Brotherly  Love,  and  most,  if  not 
all,  the  signers  of  that  famous  charter  of  liberty  were 
inspired  by  the  thought  of  founding  a  Christian  Re- 

*  Witness  Paine;s  “Common  Sense,”  in  which,  hiding  his  infidel  senti¬ 
ments,  be  seeks  to  prove  from  the  Bible  that  kings  are  a  curse,  and  that  a 
republican  form  of  government  is  the  one  best  pleasing  to  God. 


20 


THE  SABBATH  A  NECESSITY. 


public.  They  did  not  aim  to  make  this  land  an  im¬ 
mense  temple  of  Mammon,  a  vast  work-shop  of  oppres¬ 
sion  !  Neither  did  they  wish  to  see  it  become  a  Sab¬ 
bathless  land,  wherein  divine  worship  was  supplanted 
by  processions  and  games,  blaring  trumpets  and  clash¬ 
ing  cymbals,  theatres  and  beer-gardens.  From  such 
lands  they  had  fled,  to  worship  God  freely  in  the  wilds 
of  a  new  world.  If  you  love  America,  sanctify  the 
Sabbath.  The  general  desecration  of  that  hallowed 
day  will  be  as  fatal  to  our  government  as  treason  and 
rebellion. 

By  the  sacrifices  our  forefathers  made  in  colonizing 
the  howling  wilderness,  by  the  memory  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  by  the  blood  of 
revolutionary  heroes  and  of  those  who  fell  in  more  re¬ 
cent  wars,  and  by  the  glory  of  the  wise  counsellors  who 
framed  our  noble  Constitution,  I  charge  you  not  to  dis¬ 
turb  the  deep-laid  foundations  of  the  Republic !  By 
the  earnest  prayers  that  myriads  of  patriotic  voices, 
now  hushed  in  death,  have  winged  to  Heaven,  by  every 
hallowed  recollection  of  by-gone  years,  by  the  millions 
of  hearts  whose  love  is  to-day  entwined  about  this  na¬ 
tion,  by  all  the  hopes  of  good  men  on  earth  and  saints 
in  Paradise,  I  do  solemnly  adjure  you  to  preserve  for 
A  merica,  not  only  its  charter  of  freedom,  its  venerable 
Constitution  and  its  republican  form  of  government, 
but  also  its  institutions  of  religion,  its  Bibles,  its 
churches  and  its  holy  Sabbath-days! 


